Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, turbine engines often contain secondary flow paths forming cooling systems for prolonging the life of turbine components and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures. Allowing the combustion gases and cooling gases found in secondary flow paths to mix is detrimental to engine performance and is generally undesirable.
Many turbine engines include noteworthy leakage paths between gas turbine components, such as adjacent vanes, ring segments, et cetera. Sealing this leakage path is problematic because the seal must be able to accommodate radial, circumferential, and angular movements between the components while maintaining an adequate seal. Such movements are often caused by assembly misalignment, vibration during operation of a turbine engine, and different thermal expansion between adjacent components.
Conventional seals, as shown in FIG. 1, typically are inefficient at sealing these gaps because many conventional seals are rigid and do not conform to the misalignment. Most rigid seals include a predetermined clearance to account for transient movements of mating components and to allow for manufacturing and assembly tolerances. If clearance is not included in a rigid seal, the seal can bind and cause damage to the seal or adjacent components. While this clearance is necessary with rigid seals, such clearance increases the leakage around the seal resulting in a decrease in performance. Thus, a need exists for a seal capable of sealing gaps more efficiently between thermally movable components.